Fortnightly - Ice Energyhttp://www.fortnightly.com/tags/ice-energy
enPeople (March 2011)http://www.fortnightly.com/fortnightly/2011/03/people-march-2011
<div class="field field-name-field-import-category field-type-text field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Category:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">People</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-import-volume field-type-node-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Magazine Volume:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Fortnightly Magazine - March 2011</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><span class="boldred">New Opportunities:</span> <b>James H. Lash</b> was promoted to president, <b>FirstEnergy Generation</b> for Akron. Lash is currently president and chief nuclear officer for FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Co.</p>
<p><b>FirstEnergy</b> also promoted <b>Peter P. Sena</b> to president and CEO of FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Co., <b>James V. Fakult</b> to president of Maryland Operations, and <b>Dennis M. Chack</b> to president of Ohio Operations.</p>
<p><b>Ohio Edison</b> promoted <b>Donald A. Moul</b> to regional president. Moul was v.p., nuclear support, for FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Co.</p>
<p><b>Toledo Edison</b> promoted <b>Randall A. Frame</b> to regional president. Frame was director, utility and corporate sourcing, supply chain.</p>
<p><b>Constellation Energy</b> made several changes within its leadership team: <b>Jennifer E. Lowry</b> was named v.p. and treasurer, from assistant treasurer, and <b>Stephen J. Woerner</b> became v.p. and CIO. Previously Woerner was v.p. of transformation. The company also named <b>Reese K. Feuerman</b> to the newly created role of v.p., operational finance. Feuerman was previously CFO and treasurer at Baltimore Gas &amp; Electric.</p>
<p><b>Chesapeake Utilities</b> named <b>William B. Zipf</b> v.p. of Eastern Shore Natural Gas Co.</p>
<p><b>Puget Sound Energy</b> and its parent company, Puget Energy, appointed <b>Steve R. Secrist</b> v.p., general counsel and chief ethics and compliance officer.</p>
<p><b>Dominion Resources</b> promoted <b>Daniel Weekley</b> to v.p. of government affairs.</p>
<p><b>Moanica Caston</b> was elected v.p. of diversity by the <b>Georgia Power</b> board of directors.</p>
<p><b>Ross Ridenoure</b> joined <b>Parsons</b> as v.p. of nuclear energy initiatives. Previously Ridenoure was senior vice president, chief nuclear officer and site manager for Southern California Edison’s San Onofre nuclear plant.</p>
<p>California Gov. Jerry Brown appointed <b>Carla Peterman</b> to the <b>California Energy Commission</b>. Peterman was a researcher at UC Berkeley’s Energy Institute at Haas School of Business.</p>
<p>Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire reappointed <b>Commissioner Philip Jones</b> to a second six-year term on the <b>Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission</b> (UTC).</p>
<p><b>Robert L. Crowell</b> was named head of development at <b>OwnEnergy</b>. Crowell will be responsible for seeing all of the company’s community wind farm projects through construction.</p>
<p><b>Ice Energy</b> named <b>Robert L. Davis</b> as v.p., utility market development. Davis previously was director of strategic planning for R.W. Beck, and a utility analyst for Gainesville Regional Utilities before that.</p>
<p><b>Peter Mastic</b> joined <b>National Wind</b> as president and chief development officer, with overall responsibility for project development and project finance. Mastic was previously founder and CEO of Third Planet Windpower.</p>
<p>The <b>Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative</b> (SGCC) appointed <b>Patty Durand</b> as its full-time executive director.</p>
<p>The <b>Biomass Power Association</b> (BPA) announced that <b>Gary Melow</b> has been appointed state projects coordinator.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><span class="boldred">Boards of Directors:</span> <b>The Babcock &amp; Wilcox Co.</b> named <b>Anne R. Pramaggiore</b> to its board of directors. Pramaggiore is president and COO of ComEd.</p>
<p><b>GridWise Alliance</b> announced that <b>Bob Shapard</b>, chairman and CEO of Oncor, will serve as the next chairman of its board of directors. He succeeds Guido Bartels, general manager of global energy and utilities for IBM.</p>
<p><b>USEC’s</b> board of directors elected <b>M. Richard Smith</b> as a director. Smith brings nearly 40 years of power industry engineering, construction, project management and M&amp;A experience.</p>
<p><b>EnergyHub</b> announced that <b>David Brewster</b> has joined its board of directors. Brewster currently serves as president of EnerNOC.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><i>We welcome submissions to People, especially those accompanied by a high-resolution color photograph. E-mail to: <a href="mailto:people@pur.com">people@pur.com</a></i>.</p>
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<div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div>
<div class="field-items">
<a href="/tags/anne-r-pramaggiore">Anne R. Pramaggiore</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/berkeley">Berkeley</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/biomass-power-association">Biomass Power Association</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/bob-shapard">Bob Shapard</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/bpa-0">BPA</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/california-energy-commission">California Energy Commission</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/carla-peterman">Carla Peterman</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/chesapeake-utilities">Chesapeake Utilities</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/comed">ComEd</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/commissioner-philip-jones">Commissioner Philip Jones</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/constellation-energy">Constellation Energy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/daniel-weekley">Daniel Weekley</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/david-brewster">David Brewster</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/dennis-m-chack">Dennis M. Chack</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/dominion">Dominion</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/dominion-resources">Dominion Resources</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/donald-moul">Donald A. Moul</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/energyhub">EnergyHub</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/enernoc">EnerNOC</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/first-energy">First Energy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/firstenergy">FirstEnergy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/firstenergy-generation">FirstEnergy Generation</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/gary-melow">Gary Melow</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/georgia-power">Georgia Power</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/gov-chris-gregoire">Gov. Chris Gregoire</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/gridwise">GridWise</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/gridwise-alliance">GridWise Alliance</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/ibm">IBM</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/ice-energy">Ice Energy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/james-h-lash">James H. Lash</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/james-v-fakult">James V. Fakult</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/jennifer-e-lowry">Jennifer E. Lowry</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/jerry-brown">Jerry Brown</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/m-richard-smith">M. Richard Smith</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/maryland-operations">Maryland Operations</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/moanica-caston">Moanica Caston</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/national-wind">National Wind</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/nuclear">Nuclear</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/ohio-edison">Ohio Edison</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/ohio-operations">Ohio Operations</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/oncor">Oncor</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/ownenergy">OwnEnergy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/parsons">Parsons</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/patty-durand">Patty Durand</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/peter-mastic">Peter Mastic</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/peter-p-sena">Peter P. Sena</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/philip-jones">Philip Jones</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/puget-sound-energy">Puget Sound Energy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/randall-frame">Randall A. Frame</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/reese-k-feuerman">Reese K. Feuerman</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/robert-l-crowell">Robert L. Crowell</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/robert-l-davis">Robert L. Davis</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/ross-ridenoure">Ross Ridenoure</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/smart-grid-consumer-collaborative">Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/southern-california-edison">Southern California Edison</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/stephen-j-woerner">Stephen J. Woerner</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/steve-r-secrist">Steve R. Secrist</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/toledo-edison">Toledo Edison</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/usec">USEC</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/washington-utilities-and-transportation-commission">Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/william-b-zipf">William B. Zipf</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/wind">Wind</a> </div>
</div>
Tue, 01 Mar 2011 05:00:00 +0000puradmin14116 at http://www.fortnightly.comVendor Neutralhttp://www.fortnightly.com/fortnightly/2010/12/vendor-neutral
<div class="field field-name-field-import-deck field-type-text-long field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Deck:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-import-byline field-type-text-long field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Byline:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-import-category field-type-text field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Category:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Vendor Neutral</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-import-bio field-type-text-long field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Author Bio:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-import-volume field-type-node-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Magazine Volume:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Fortnightly Magazine - December 2010</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>Lockheed Martin teams with Tendril; Pattern Energy 101 MW wind plant starts operating; Alstom to supply steam equipment to GWF plant; Siemens wins government efficiency contract; GE Jenbacher introduces high-efficiency gas engine; OpenADR Alliance forms; Better Place gets into San Francisco taxis; EnerNOC enters TransAmerica Pyramid; and more. </p>
<h4>Generation </h4>
<p><b>American Capital Energy</b> began installing one of North America’s largest rooftop solar arrays at the <b>GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare Northeast</b> regional distribution center in York, Pa. When the 3 MW project is completed, nearly 11,000 solar panels are expected to generate approximately 3.4 million kWh of electricity per year, which GSK says is enough to supply the facility’s annual electricity needs. The project was supported by a $1 million grant from Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Financing Authority and $4.1 million in federal tax credits. GSK also plans to offset its costs by selling solar renewable energy credits (REC). GSK says it recently completed four other solar panel projects at its facilities in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Belgium and Singapore, and that it plans to install solar panels at its Fresno, Calif., distribution center in the spring of 2011. </p>
<p><b>Alstom</b> signed a contract with U.S. independent power producer GWF Energy to supply heat recovery steam generators and a steam turbine to GWF’s power plant in Tracy, Calif. The project, which will convert the Tracy facility from a 169 MW gas-fired peaking plant to a 336 MW combined-cycle plant, will increase the plant’s efficiency while providing operational flexibility to support GWF’s power purchase agreement with Pacific Gas &amp; Electric. The expanded plant is expected to begin commercial operation in 2012. </p>
<p>Alstom and <b>EDP Renewables</b> completed the Le Mée wind farm in La Centre Région, France. The 18 MW farm consists of six 3 MW Alstom ECO 100 wind turbines. The wind farm is the third in the region to be commissioned in less than a year using Alstom’s 3 MW turbine technology. By the end of the year Alstom says it will have commissioned 27 ECO 100 turbines for EDP in the region, with a generating capacity exceeding 80 MW. </p>
<p><b>Toyota Tsusho Corp. </b>entered the U.S. market in natural gas-fired power plants by acquiring from GE Energy Financial Services an indirect ownership stake in the Oyster Creek Cogeneration Plant in Freeport, Texas, for about U.S. $100 million. Toyota Tsusho, acting through a North American subsidiary, bought a 45 percent interest in the plant. The Oyster Creek transaction marks the first partnership between Toyota Tsusho and GE Energy Financial Services in thermal power assets. </p>
<p><b>The American Wind Energy Association</b> (AWEA) formed the <b>Distributed Wind Energy Association</b> (DWEA), which focuses on advocacy and education to promote the on-site generation and consumption of distributed wind energy. </p>
<p><b>Solar Frontier</b>, a manufacturer of thin film solar technology based on the elements copper, indium, selenium, gallium, and sulfur, announced that it has signed an agreement to jointly develop thin film solar cell technology with IBM based on the elements copper, zinc, tin, sulfur, and selenium. This joint development will couple IBM’s groundbreaking research with Solar Frontier’s thin film development and manufacturing capabilities to create a cost competitive solar technology that uses earth-abundant materials. </p>
<p><b>AllEarth Renewables</b>, a Vermont manufacturer of grid-connected wind turbines and solar tracking systems, received a contract from <b>Chittenden County Solar Partners</b> to install 382 AllSun Trackers at a solar farm in South Burlington, Vt. The installation will be the largest solar array to date in the state of Vermont and is scheduled to begin operations by early 2011. </p>
<p><b>RMK Solar</b> began building one of the largest ground-based solar energy systems in Pennsylvania, under contract with pretzel maker <b>Snyder’s of Hanover</b>. When completed the solar farm will include more than 15,000 panels spanning 26 acres, directly across from the Snyder’s of Hanover corporate headquarters and manufacturing facility in Hanover, Pa. </p>
<p><b>Pattern Energy Group</b> says the 101.2 MW Hatchet Ridge wind project in Burney, Calif., is now operational and selling electricity to PG&amp;E under a 15-year power purchase agreement. RES America Construction built the wind farm infrastructure, while <b>Siemens</b> erected 44 of its SWT-2.3-93 wind turbines, equipped with blades manufactured in Fort Madison, Iowa. Ameron International of Fontana, Calif., supplied turbine towers. Pattern Energy says the 101.2 MW wind energy project is the only large-scale wind project in California to reach operation this year. </p>
<p><b>Airstreams Renewables, Inc.</b> (ARI) announced plans to build a 20,000 square-foot renewable energy training center on a 33-acre parcel that ARI owns in Tehachapi, Calif. The training center will be located adjacent to a 1.5 to 2 MW solar park that a solar developer plans to build on 14 acres of ARI’s land, under lease for 33 years. Project construction is scheduled to begin in 2013. Additionally, ARI plans to significantly expand its ENSA North America subsidiary across the U.S. and Canada and to deploy additional mobile training facilities, in addition to hiring and training technical trainers. </p>
<p><b>GE’s Jenbacher</b> announced the development of a new power-generation gas engine, the J920 engine, with electrical efficiency of 48.7 percent and an output of 9.5 MW. GE says the new engine will emit 1,500 tons of CO2 per year less than a comparable engine. </p>
<p>The <b>Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement</b> (BOEMRE), the <b>Department of Energy</b> (DOE), and the Department of Commerce’s <b>National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration</b> (NOAA) announced eight joint research awards totaling nearly $5 million to support the responsible siting and permitting of offshore wind energy facilities and ocean energy generated from waves, tides, currents and thermal gradients. The following projects were selected for awards: 1) Parametrix, Auburn, Wash., $499,000 to apply probabilistic statistical methods to evaluate ocean renewable energy siting proposals; 2) Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Bioacoustics Research Program, Ithaca, N.Y., $499,000 to study how offshore alternative energy (OAE) activities affect marine vertebrates; 3) University of Rhode Island, Kingston R.I., $745,000 to develop standardized data protocols for specific offshore renewable energy issues; 4) University of Washington-School of Aquatic and Fishery Scientists, Seattle, Wash., $746,000 to evaluate acoustic technologies for studying animal populations at a proposed hydrokinetic site; 5) Pacific Energy Ventures, Portland, Ore., $499,000 to build an environmental data protocol framework for evaluating offshore renewable energy projects; 6) University of Arkansas Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies, Fayetteville, Ark., $497,000 to develop a spatial layout system to design, analyze and visualize offshore renewable energy projects; 7) University of Texas at Austin-Bureau of Economic Geology, Austin, Texas, $497,000 to compile information needed to establish best management practices for U.S. offshore geologic sequestration; and 8) University of Massachusetts—Marine Renewable Energy Center, Dartmouth, Mass., $748,000 for spatial survey technologies, assessment and post-development monitoring of offshore renewable energy resources and facilities. </p>
<p><b>Princeton Properties Management</b> installed a second-phase solar energy system on its apartment community in Salem, Mass. The Princeton Properties apartment community in Salem is one of the largest single-site solar projects in the state’s history. </p>
<h4>T&amp;D </h4>
<p><b>Telogis</b> introduced Telogis Fleet 8, a GPS-based fleet management software designed to help fleet managers to integrate planning and operational data, field variables and location-based intelligence to make informed field-force deployment decisions. </p>
<p><b>Jacobs Engineering Group</b> received a contract from <b>Bonneville Power Administration</b> (BPA) to provide on-site construction administration and inspection services to build and replace transmission lines, substations and ancillary communications projects. </p>
<p>The <b>U.S. Department of Energy</b> announced the offer of a conditional commitment for a $350 million loan guarantee to develop the One Nevada Transmission Line (ON Line), the first transmission line project to be offered a conditional commitment by the loan programs office of the Department of Energy. ON Line consists of a new 500 kilovolt (kV) AC transmission line that will run 235 miles, with a new substation located at the northern end of the line. The project will carry approximately 600 MW of electricity, including renewable energy resources, and is expected to integrate existing transmission systems while improving grid reliability and efficiency. </p>
<p><b>Survalent Technology</b> commissioned a new supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system for the City of Marceline, Mo. The new SmartSCADA system incorporates many of Survalent’s advanced system applications, including: event data recording, IED Wizard, control panel, SCADA add-in for MS Excel and Access, and remote alarm annunciation. </p>
<p><b>Survalent</b> also installed a new SCADA system for Dothan Utilities, headquartered in Dothan, Ala. The new system was provided under a turnkey contract by Survalent with complete database and graphics for 40 sites. The system included Survalent’s WebSurv solution, an application to serve real-time SCADA information to users via web browser, and without the need for custom installation or maintenance. </p>
<p><b>Sioux Valley Energy</b> released Full Spectrum’s FullMax mobile broadband system for its private wide-area mission mobile data needs. The FullMax system is used for energy related mobile workforce management applications. </p>
<p><b>Alstom Grid</b> was selected to provide HVDC converter technology for the Tres Amigas SuperStation, a power transmission hub that will link America’s three primary electric transmission grids. </p>
<p><b>ABB</b> won an order worth $20 million from Public Power Corp. (PPC), Greece’s national power utility, to build a 150/20 kV substation in Athens. ABB has turnkey responsibility for design, engineering, supply, and installation of the substation. Key equipment to be supplied includes eight 150kV GIS bays, three 150/20kV 100 MVA (megavolt ampere) power transformers as well as 150 arc-proof type switchgear panels. The substation will also be equipped with an IEC 61850 substation automation system to facilitate open communication between the numerous control and protection devices. </p>
<h4>SmartGrid </h4>
<p>The <b>OpenADR Alliance</b> has been formed to accelerate industry adoption of an automated demand response (ADR) standard for smart grid technologies. Smart grid standards for ADR are aimed at reducing the cost, improving the reliability, and accelerating the speed of DR and smart grid implementations across the United States. The alliance is supported by Honeywell, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Pacific Gas &amp; Electric, and Southern California Edison. </p>
<p>The <b>International Electrotechnical Commission</b> (IEC) announced it will launch its online <b>IEC Smart Grid Standard Mapping Solution</b>, an interactive tool that creates a map of the smart grid and enables smart grid managers to identify IEC smart grid standards, by the end of 2010 or early 2011. </p>
<p><b>Tendril</b> and <b>Lockheed Martin</b> announced they will be working to integrate Lockheed Martin’s SEEload demand response management solution with Tendril’s energy management platform. The integration enables utilities to deploy programs based on the new Open ADR standard. </p>
<p><b>Bridge Energy</b> will serve as the smart grid integration partner for Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC). OUC will start integrating meter data management (MDM), customer information system (CIS) and outage management system (OMS) applications as part of a broader smart grid initiative. Bridge will use its eFame methodology to integrate OUC’s newly acquired eMeter MDM application with OUC’s existing CIS and OMS applications across distributed locations. Bridge’s Bridge says eFame is its system for performing strategic assessment, developing smart grid strategy, evaluating vendor products and implementing application integration. </p>
<p><b>Powerhouse Dynamics</b> recently released eMonitor, a home energy management system that alerts users to critical items with their power usage. eMonitor connects to a home’s circuit panel and enables users to view the home’s power consumption, phantom power loss and carbon footprint. </p>
<p><b>WeatherBug</b> announced the launch of WeatherBug Smart Grid Solutions, a group of applications using real-time, hyper-local weather intelligence to improve efficiency across utility systems. </p>
<h4>EVs &amp; Storage </h4>
<p><b>GoSmart Technologies</b> finished installing ChargeSPOT networked electric vehicle (EV) charging equipment at a data center being built in North Carolina. The data center, which was designed to achieve LEED Platinum certification, is owned by an unnamed Fortune 500 company. </p>
<h4>People </h4>
<p>The <b>Solar Electric Power Association</b> elected <b>Janet Gagnon</b> and <b>Lisa Frantzis</b> to its board of directors. Gagnon heads government relations and lobbying efforts for SolarWorld, and serves on the boards of directors for the Solar Energy Industries Associaton, the Solar Alliance, CalSEIA, CoSEIA, and NYSEIA. Frantzis is managing director of the renewable and distributed energy practice at <b>Navigant Consulting</b>. </p>
<p>The <b>National Institute of Standards and Technology</b> (NIST) named new members of the GridWise Alliance to its newly formed Smart Grid Advisory Committee. The Alliance members appointed to the board include: <b>Jon Arnold</b>, managing director of Microsoft’s worldwide power and utilities industry business; <b>Lawrence E. Jones</b>, Alstom Grid’s director, strategy and special projects worldwide; <b>Terry Mohn</b>, founder and chief strategy officer at General MicroGrids; and <b>Simon Pontin</b>, v.p. for development at Itron’s Oconee manufacturing facility. </p>
<p><b>Steptoe &amp; Johnson</b> added new attorneys to the firm’s practice. <b>K. Jason Lucas</b> joins the firm’s Wheeling, W.V., office and focuses his practice in the area of energy law. <b>Diana S. Prulhiere</b> joins the firm’s Charleston, W.V., office, focusing her practice in the area of environmental law. </p>
<p><b>Vertex</b> appointed <b>Barry Shurkey</b> as global head of applications. Shurkey is responsible for leading the Vertex global applications team as it develops industry-specific IT applications. </p>
<h4>M&amp;A &amp; Finance </h4>
<p><b>ITOCHU</b> and <b>General Electric</b> completed the first transaction under their collaboration agreement by making a co-investment in the estimated $319 million CPV Keenan II wind farm under construction in Oklahoma. GE Energy sold a portion of its $65 million preferred equity interest in the wind farm to Tyr Keenan II, an indirect subsidiary of ITOCHU. This co-investment is the first transaction under the collaboration and cooperation agreement that GE and ITOCHU finalized in May to identify co-investment opportunities in renewable energy worldwide. </p>
<p><b>Allegiance Capital</b> facilitated <b>T&amp;D Solutions</b>’ acquisition of<b> E&amp;R Inc.</b>, a power line maintenance services company based in North Carolina. Terms of the private transaction weren’t disclosed. </p>
<p><b>Ice Energy</b>, which provides smart grid-enabled distributed energy storage systems, closed a $24 million Series C financing. The equity investment—from TIAA-CREF, Energy Capital Partners, Good Energies, Sail Ventures and Second Avenue Partners—provides Ice Energy with working and growth capital to support its deployment of utility-scale distributed energy storage projects. TIAA-CREF’s $4.5 million portion is its first under a new green building technology partnership with Good Energies. </p>
<p><b>1366 Technologies</b>, a solar technology manufacturer, closed a $20 million Series B financing, bringing the company’s total amount raised to $37.55 million. Korea’s Hanwha Chemical and Ventizz Capital Fund IV joined returning investors North Bridge Venture Partners and Polaris Venture Partners in backing the company. </p>
<h4>Energy Services </h4>
<p><b>Stream Energy</b> has begun operations in the Pennsylvania electricity market and recently started accepting residential customers’ requests for service in the PPL service area in southwestern Pennsylvania. </p>
<p><b>Gateway Energy</b> announced its fixed-rate offer for electricity, which the company says provides 10 percent savings for residents when compared with PECO’s first-quarter price to compare. Gateway says its 8.9 cents/kWh fixed rate is guaranteed through June 30, 2011. </p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-article-category field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above clearfix"><h3 class="field-label">Category (Actual): </h3><ul class="links"><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-0"><a href="/article-categories/generation-markets">Generation &amp; Markets</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-1"><a href="/article-categories/td-grid">T&amp;D Grid</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-2"><a href="/article-categories/finance">Finance</a></li></ul></div><div class="field field-name-field-members-only field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Viewable to All?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-article-featured field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Is Featured?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-department field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above clearfix"><h3 class="field-label">Department: </h3><ul class="links"><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-0"><a href="/department/vendor-neutral">Vendor Neutral</a></li></ul></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above clearfix">
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Wed, 01 Dec 2010 05:00:00 +0000puradmin13567 at http://www.fortnightly.comVendor Neutralhttp://www.fortnightly.com/fortnightly/2010/05/vendor-neutral
<div class="field field-name-field-import-deck field-type-text-long field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Deck:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-import-byline field-type-text-long field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Byline:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-import-category field-type-text field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Category:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Vendor Neutral</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-import-bio field-type-text-long field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Author Bio:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-import-volume field-type-node-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Magazine Volume:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Fortnightly Magazine - May 2010</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><h4>T&amp;D and Smart Grid </h4>
<p><b>The ZigBee Alliance</b> and<b> the Wi-Fi Alliance </b>entered an agreement to collaborate on wireless home area networks (HAN) for smart-grid applications. The initial focus of the collaboration will be ZigBeeSmart Energy Profile 2.0, which is the next-generation energy management protocol for smart grid-enabled homes based on today’s successful ZigBeeSmart Energy Profile. The ZigBeeSmart Energy Profile 2.0 is expected to be extended to operate over Wi-Fi technology as a result of the collaboration. </p>
<p><b>Capgemini</b> launched Smart Energy Services (SES), a new global service line that will provide the full spectrum of smart metering, smart grid, smart home solutions and smart analytics to utilities across the globe. The offering leverages a range of proven services and best practices successfully developed by Capgemini since 2004 working with more than 20 North American and European utilities. Also central to the new SES offering is the company’s proprietary Managed Business Services, a usage-based pricing model designed to offer greater flexibility for the utility, which reduces risk by minimizing large upfront capital expenditures. </p>
<p><b>Itron Inc.</b> and <b>Tropos</b><b>Networks</b> agreed to jointly develop products for the utility market including an integrated network solution. That solution will allow utilities to extend their smart-grid foundations into a comprehensive, privately-owned broadband network for utility applications. This aligns with the larger goal of the partnership, which is to simplify utility smart-grid deployment and management while laying the foundation for additional smart-grid applications. </p>
</p>
<p><b>Open Systems International (OSI) </b>released ISIS (Inline Serial Information Shield), OSI’s serial communications security solution. OSI says ISIS is a fully NERC, FERC and NIST compliant serial security solution, designed to integrate with existing serial communications infrastructures currently used by the electric, gas, water and other industries. </p>
<p><b>ABB</b> agreed to charter a new vessel from Aker Solutions for use in subsea cable installation. The state-of-the-art ship will be equipped to install heavy power cables across long distances. The vessel, to be named Aker Connector, is currently under construction and expected to be operational from 2012. ABB will charter the vessel for 2012 and 2013, with an option to extend the contract for a further three years. In addition to the cable-laying vessel, Aker Solutions also will provide a range of related engineering, project management and installation services for the execution of marine and offshore projects. </p>
<p><b>S&amp;C Electric </b>announced an enhanced product and software suite for the intelligent distribution grid featuring IntelliTEAM SG, S&amp;C’s 3rd-generation automatic restoration system. This performs fault isolation and rapid self-healing of the distribution system, restoring power in seconds, and reduces the complexity of deploying advanced distribution automation. This continues S&amp;C’s innovations for the smart distribution grid, including the award-winning IntelliRupter PulseCloser and SpeedNet Radios. When combined, these products—hardware, software, and communications—provide a solution for advanced automation. </p>
<p>Also, S&amp;C and<b> Oracle </b>are working together to develop and promote advanced distribution management systems for the smart grid. The integration is designed to achieve complete interoperability between Oracle Utilities Network Management System and S&amp;C’s IntelliTEAM SG automatic restoration system. </p>
<p><b>The GridWise Alliance</b> and <b>Future of Privacy Forum</b> signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on data privacy issues and will continue to hold joint meetings and work toward policy solutions as the electric grid begins to collect and use digital information. The meeting to sign the MOU was hosted by the Embassy of Canada at which data privacy issues around the smart grid were discussed. </p>
<p><b>The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) </b>published a report describing the design of a superconducting direct current (DC) cable system capable of moving thousands of megawatts of electricity between regions, and that is ready for commercial development. The EPRI analysis points to significant efficiency gains using superconducting DC transmission lines, with the capability to reduce transmission losses at full load by more than 150 percent compared to alternating current (AC) or high-voltage DC systems. Such a line could become an option within a decade along with extra high voltage (EHV) AC lines that are currently used to move large amounts of power over long distances. The superconducting cable system would provide 10 GW power capacity with a nominal current and voltage of 100 kiloamps and 100 kilovolts. The report also points to the cable system’s potential to enhance the safety, reliability and efficiency of the existing AC power grid. “A Superconducting DC Cable” is available at <i>my.epri.com</i>. </p>
<p><b>On-Ramp Wireless</b> entered into distribution agreements for its wireless communication systems with Uniquest, a Korean technical distributor, and Meta-Tech, a Taiwanese technical distributor. A channel partnership with Uniquest allows On-Ramp to reach the Korean market and begin developing new market segments in green and smart-grid infrastructure. MetaTech has existing market presence in such market segments as metering and street lighting in Taiwan, China, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam and India. The distributor agreement includes sales and technical support in each of these regions. </p>
<h4>Metering </h4>
<p><b>Lockheed Martin</b> and <b>Itron</b> agreed to integrate Lockheed Martin’s SEEload demand-response management solution with Itron’s smart-grid platform. The integrated solution, which includes the OpenWay smart metering and Itron Enterprise Edition Meter Data Management (IEE MDM) systems, is intended to reduce the cost, complexity and risk for utilities deploying smart meters and implementing demand-response programs.SEEload is one of Lockheed Martin’s SEEsuite Smart Grid Command and Control applications, and enables utilities and ISOs to precisely manage demand-response events across an entire distribution network, including substations and individual feeders. SEEload provides complete DR life-cycle management, including DR program definition and customer enrollment, real-time DR event management, and post-event DR analytics. </p>
<p><b>The California PUC</b> selected <b>The</b><b>Structure</b><b>Group</b> to conduct an independent evaluation of Pacific Gas and Electric’s (PG&amp;E) smart meters. The PUC authorized Southern California Edison to install approximately 5.3 million new smart meters, San Diego Gas and Electric Company approximately 1.4 million electric smart meters and 900,000 natural gas meters, and PG&amp;E approximately 5 million electric meters and 4.2 million natural gas meters. As these smart meters have been rolled out, the PUC has received just over 600 complaints, almost all from PG&amp;E’s service area. </p>
<p><b>NSTAR’s</b> smart-grid pilot program has been approved by the Massachusetts DPUC and soon will begin enrolling customers interested in tracking and reducing their energy usage. <b>Tendril</b> will work with NSTAR to leverage its existing automated meter reading (AMR) infrastructure to offer near-time energy information and management to 2,800 customers. </p>
<h4>Mergers and Acquisitions </h4>
<p><b>Navigation</b><b>Capital</b><b>Partners</b><b>(NCP</b>), an Atlanta-based private equity firm, acquired Specialized Technical Services (STS), a provider of smart-grid infrastructure upgrades and meter-related services. NCP says STS is the first in a series of acquisitions planned in support of its initiative to build an industry-leading provider of value-added field and data management services to electric, water and gas utilities. NCP plans to help STS expand into a one-stop shop of high-value field and data management solutions to manage utility assets. </p>
<p><b>AREVA’s</b> transmission and distribution division acquired PSD, an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) company located in Canton, Ohio. The company employs 18 people and has more than 30 years of experience managing EPC projects. The acquisition will strengthen AREVA T&amp;D’s presence in the U.S. market primarily for the integration of power electronics solutions for air-insulated substations, gas-insulated substations and wind farm grid-connection solutions. </p>
<p><b>Solutia </b>reached an agreement to purchase Etimex Solar GmbH, a supplier of ethylene vinyl acetate encapsulants to the photovoltaic market. Etimex Solar is a wholly owned subsidiary of Etimex Holding GmbH, which is controlled by funds affiliated with Alpha Gruppe. The purchase price of $240 million in cash is expected to be financed from existing cash on the balance sheet and additional debt. </p>
<p><b>Trimble</b> acquired privately-held LET Systems based in Cork, Ireland. LET Systems specializes in incident and outage management system (OMS) solutions for utilities. Financial terms were not disclosed. LET Systems provides OMS, network modeling, customer contact and mobile workforce management software for electric, gas, water and wastewater utilities. </p>
<h4>Generation </h4>
<p><b>Virent Energy Systems</b> and <b>Shell</b> started production at the world’s first demonstration plant converting plant sugars into gasoline and gasoline blend components, rather than ethanol. The demonstration plant, located in Madison, Wisc., has the capacity to produce up to 10,000 gallons a year, which will be used for engine and fleet testing. This new biofuel can be blended with gasoline in high concentrations for use in standard gasoline engines. Virent says its patented BioForming platform technology uses catalysts to convert plant sugars into hydrocarbon molecules like those produced at a petroleum refinery. The sugars can be sourced from non-food feedstocks such as corn stover, wheat straw and sugarcane pulp, in addition to conventional biofuel feedstocks such as wheat, corn and sugarcane. The demonstration plant is currently using beet sugar. </p>
<p><b>Cheng Power Systems</b> was granted the Variable Speed |Synchronous Generator (UEM) patent for wind power from the Chinese patent office. Cheng says the UEM reduces weight and physical size by 50 percent over the doubly fed electrical generator now used for wind generation, and reduces system cost. UEM is a set of electronics added to the current production generators. Further, UEM can be retrofitted to diesel generators to reduce fuel consumption for standby power generation. The company is in discussions to license the technology. </p>
<p>The Spanish system integrator, <b>Assyce Fotovoltaica</b>, is building the largest, first solar free-field solar power plant in Spain’s Extremadura region, with a capacity of more than 26 MW. The power plant with a land area of 69 hectares is expected to be completed by the end of the year. </p>
<h4>People </h4>
<p><b>Black &amp; Veatch</b> hired Dr. Eric Woychik as a director in its energy strategy practice. He previously was v.p. of regulatory affairs with Comverge. </p>
<p><b>Comverge</b> announced that R. Blake Young, a member of the company’s board of directors since 2006 and a 25-year industry veteran, has been appointed president and CEO. </p>
<p><b>SightLogix </b>has named Gary Green as director of sales for the Southeast U.S. region. Green comes to SightLogix from a sales management position at Siemens Building Technologies’ electronic security business. </p>
<p><b>Open Access Technology International</b> hired Fred Fletcher as smart grid chief architect. </p>
<p><b>Second Wind </b>announced that Larry Letteney has been named CEO. Letteney succeeds Second Wind’s founder, Walter Sass. Sass was named executive chairman of the board and chief technology officer. </p>
<p><b>eSolar </b>hired Gary Breton, formerly of Amkor Technologies and Cypress Semiconductors, as eSolar’s SVP of operations. Breton will work with newly appointed eSolar CEO John Van Scoter, previously of Texas Instruments. </p>
<p><b>Ice Energy </b>appointed Mike Hopkins as executive v.p. and general counsel. He was a partner in the Canadian law firm, Bennett Jones LLP. </p>
<p><b>Skipping Stone </b>announced that Eric Alam, an early founder of Skipping Stone, has rejoined the company. He will lead the Houston office as a Principal. Paul Maffa has joined the company in a business development and consulting role focused in the company’s natural gas practice area. He also will be responsible for new client development for the company’s subsidiary, Capacity Center, an interstate gas pipeline real time information system. </p>
<p><b>Renewable Energy Systems Americas Inc.</b> announced the resignation of President and CEO, Craig Mataczynski.. </p>
<p><b>Siemens </b>appointed Jens-Peter Saul as CEO of its wind power business unit. Saul was managing director for Siemens Energy in the UK and responsible for energy for the North and West European regions. </p>
<p><b>S&amp;C Electric Co.</b> appointed Michael Edmonds as global smart grid strategies director. He was v.p. and general manager of Siemens energy and automation. </p>
<h4>Storage and EVs </h4>
<p><b>Maxwell Technologies</b> introduced its new K2 Series large cell BOOSTCAP ultracapacitors. About the size of a soda can, the K2 series BOOSTCAP cells operate at 2.7 volts and incorporate design and construction enhancements to ensure high performance, durability and long operating life. Primary applications for Maxwell’s K2 series products, which range from 650 to 3,000 farads, include grid stabilization, renewable energy systems, back-up power, automotive subsystems, hybrid and electric vehicle drive trains and other applications that require burst power and heavy cycling that can’t be efficiently provided by a battery or power supply alone. The company is currently shipping K2 cells in production volumes and multi-cell modules ranging from 16 to 125 volts. The K2 replaces Maxwell’s previous MC series ultracapacitors. </p>
<p><b>NaturalNano, Inc.</b> was issued a second patent dealing with use of its proprietary Halloysite materials (HNT) in high-performance energy storage devices known as Ultra Capacitors The company’s first patent for Ultra Capacitors comprised of Mineral Microtubules, takes advantage of the extremely small size and high surface-to-volume of Halloysite, as well as its chemical stability, to provide improved electrolyte performance in high energy storage capacitors such as ultracapacitors and supercapacitors. These devices hold the potential to surpass batteries in applications such as hybrid and pure electric vehicles, cordless tools and appliances, and other distributed power applications due to their long life, extremely fast recharge times, and lower environmental impact at the end of their useful life. </p>
<h4>Energy Services </h4>
<p><b>RentBureau</b> launched UtilityView, a reporting product that provides energy companies with multifamily housing data that can help maximize returns on new business bids. UtilityView reports address occupancy rate, resident risk, payment behavior, apartment turnover and demographics – key markers that utility companies can use to decide which communities are best to target for new business. Gas South, one of Georgia’s fastest-growing natural gas marketers, partnered with RentBureau to test the UtilityView beta, and now has elected to purchase the reporting tool. </p>
<p><b>Energy Automation Systems, Inc. (EASI)</b> announced that Trevecca Nazarene University of Nashville, Tenn., has installed energy-saving technologies developed by EASI that </p>
<p>are estimated to reduce energy use by nearly 15 percent. EASI’s technologies were installed in the 25,000 square-foot A. B. Mackey Building, built in 1961. The three-story building serves as classroom space and home of the School of Education. Payback on the $17,000 project is expected in less than 34 months and there is a 30-year life expectancy of the EASI technologies. </p>
<p><b>Vertex </b>signed a multi-year contract to consolidate, upgrade, and host NorthWestern Energy’s existing customer information systems (CIS). NorthWestern Energy provides electricity and natural gas, serving approximately 661,000 customers in Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota and Nebraska. NorthWestern Energy already uses Vertex E-CIS customer information platforms, which are Vertex hosted or supported. With the new contract, Vertex will be upgrading and consolidating the existing E-CIS databases into one hosted eCIS+ platform, the next generation enterprise CIS from Vertex. With eCIS+, NorthWestern Energy expects to streamline and gain efficiencies within contact center and billing operations while reducing costs. In addition, the company will be providing enhanced customer care through better online customer self-service functionality. </p>
</p>
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Sat, 01 May 2010 04:00:00 +0000puradmin14247 at http://www.fortnightly.comVendor Neutralhttp://www.fortnightly.com/fortnightly/2010/03/vendor-neutral
<div class="field field-name-field-import-deck field-type-text-long field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Deck:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-import-byline field-type-text-long field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Byline:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-import-category field-type-text field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Category:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Vendor Neutral</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-import-bio field-type-text-long field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Author Bio:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-import-volume field-type-node-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Magazine Volume:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Fortnightly Magazine - March 2010</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><h4>Generation </h4>
<p><b>Siemens Energy</b> has been awarded an 18-month, $300,000 R&amp;D program by the Illinois Clean Coal Institute to study the effects of coal and coal-derived syngas combustion on the behavior of material and coating degradation in utility boiler and gas turbine environments. Focus areas of the research program will explore materials degradation modes in integrated gasification combined-cycle (IGCC) systems and utility boilers. The program will evaluate super alloy and alternative coatings, including nanotechnology materials suitable for use in flue gas streams from the combustion of coal, syngas, high hydrogen fuels and from future oxy-fuel fired systems. </p>
<p><b>Broadlands Financial Group</b>, an international owner’s representative and construction controls firm based in Villanova, Pa., announced that Green Energy Capital Partners, the project developer, engaged Broadlands as its owner’s representative to develop a 10.6-MW solar park in Nesquehoning, Pa. The project is in the final stages of permitting with construction expected in the early spring. The PA Solar Park will consist of 10,000 photovoltaic solar panels arrayed on dual-axis trackers and will produce approximately 16 million kWh annually—enough to power 1,450 homes. The project will be constructed over a five-month period, create 50 full-time and 15 part-time jobs locally during construction and provide more than $3 million in wages. Once operational, the park will employ four full-time employees. </p>
<p><b>Gazoo Energy Group</b> entered into a joint venture with Regenedyne, a manufacturer of maglev wind turbines that use full-permanent magnets to nearly eliminate friction by floating the blades above the base. The technology is capable of scaling to massive sizes, with one turbine able to replace 1,000 traditional windmills and power 750,000 homes. Additional benefits include the ability to generate power with winds as slow as three miles per hour and operating costs that are 50-percent cheaper than regular windmills. Gazoo Energy Group plans on building and financing a wind turbine plant. </p>
<p><b>One Block Off the Grid </b>(1BOG), a solar consumer advocacy group, launched the company’s first East Coast solar group purchasing campaign. Homeowners throughout the northern part of New Jersey now can join the Northern New Jersey 1BOG solar campaign and buy residential solar energy at a group discount rate of only $5.45 per watt. This is a 16-percent reduction over standard rates for solar in the region for 2009. After evaluating local installation companies, 1BOG selected Rockaway, N.J.-based solar installer, The Solar Center, as campaign partner to service the Northern New Jersey 1BOG community. </p>
<p><b>Confluence Solar</b>, located in Missouri, will invest $200 million in a manufacturing, warehousing and distribution facility in Clinton, Tenn., near Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Confluence Solar manufactures high quality, mono-crystal silicon ingots that increase the efficiency and lower the cost of solar photovoltaic solar power generation. </p>
<p><b>Lumos Solar</b>, a designer and distributor of solar electric and solar thermal products, hosted its first solar education and training classes last December in Boulder, Colo. It now is running four training classes each month. Lumos has built a facility for comprehensive solar electric and solar thermal training that covers both system education and hands-on installation training. The training is geared towards plumbing, mechanical and electrical contractors that want to gain access to the solar industry. Many contractors know in theory how to install solar systems but they lack the practical knowledge to finish a job. Lumos’ training gives them the education and ability to complete their first solar installations. Participants receive 40 hours towards their hours that are required for NABCEP certification. </p>
<h4>Energy Services </h4>
<p><b>EnerNOC, Inc.</b> announced that Stater Bros. Markets, the largest privately-owned supermarket chain in southern California, has earned payments of approximately $250,000 annually for reducing non-essential electricity usage during periods of peak demand, high electricity prices, and other system needs. As part of EnerNOC’s demand-response program, Stater Bros. stores throughout the San Diego region and Southern California Edison service territory get free basic access to PowerTrak, EnerNOC’s web-based energy management software, to identify additional cost-saving opportunities through better energy management. </p>
<h4>Storage &amp; EVs </h4>
<p>The U.S. DOE has closed a $1.4 billion loan agreement with <b>Nissan North America</b>. The loan will support the modification of Nissan’s Smyrna, Tenn., manufacturing plant to produce the Nissan LEAF, a zero-emission, all-electric vehicle, and the lithium-ion battery packs to power them. The loan originated through DOE’s loan guarantee program, and was issued as part of the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program, a $25 billion program authorized by Congress as part of the <i>Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007</i>. The program is designed to accelerate the development of vehicles and technologies that increase U.S. energy independence, create cleaner means of transportation and stimulate the economy. </p>
<p><b>Ioxus</b> launched a new family of large cell prismatic electrochemical double layer capacitors (EDLC) for transportation and utility applications that are lower in cost for the overall system design. The 1,000-, 3,000- and 5,000-Farad (F) ultracapacitors are smaller in size with increased energy and power density compared to products of other industry players. A wide range of high-power applications, such as transportation, electric utility, material handling, industrial bridge power and renewable energy generation require low-cost and long-operating-life energy storage systems for optimal performance. Ioxus EDLCs can be used as sole energy storage devices or can be combined with other types of energy storage devices, such as batteries or fuel cells, to meet the user’s power demand requirements. In this combination, ultracapacitors expand the system’s charge and discharge capabilities into shorter response times, extend the life of other, lower-power elements and open up new options for energy storage applications. </p>
<p><b>American Electric Power </b>(AEP) and S&amp;C Electric chose International Battery to supply large-format lithium-ion rechargeable batteries for a community energy storage (CES) system in Ohio. The CES project is aimed at providing the utility with load-leveling, backup power and grid-regulation capabilities, as well as support for plug-in vehicle deployment. The project is part of AEP Ohio’s gridSMART demonstration project, funded in part by $75 million in federal stimulus funding. </p>
<p><b>The Southern California Public Power Authority (SCPPA) </b>and <b>Ice Energy </b>announced plans to undertake the nation’s first utility-scale, smart grid-enabled distributed energy storage project. The 53-MW project will help to reduce permanently California’s peak energy demand by shifting as much as 64-Gigawatt hours of on-peak electrical consumption to off-peak periods every year, reducing exposure to costly peak power and improving the reliability of the electrical grid. The project will be implemented by SCPPA member utilities throughout Southern California. </p>
<p><b>Toshiba</b> established U.S.-based sales and technical support for its new product, the Super Charge Ion Battery, SCiB. This nano-based lithium technology is noted for its rapid charging capability of 90-percent charge in less than 5 minutes, long life of more than 10 years even at rapid charge rates, and excellent safety performance. Toshiba’s international headquarters in Houston, Tex., will support the SCiB product line, and the product team will focus on business development activities, battery pack design, prototyping, assembly, technical support, and service. </p>
<h4>Metering </h4>
<p><b>Itron</b> announced two major delivery milestones for both its legacy Centron electricity meters, as well as electricity and gas end points for its smart-grid platform, OpenWay. To date, more than 30 million Centron meters have been shipped to utilities throughout the world. Introduced in 1998, Itron’s Centron electronic residential meters helped the company expand its business in digital meters and automated meter reading (AMR) systems—a cumulative market share of nearly 50 percent in North America and 30 percent globally. Coinciding with this milestone, Itron also announced the shipment of 1 million OpenWay units. The shipments support several utilities’ smart-grid deployments including CenterPoint Energy (Texas), DTE Energy (Mich.), and in California, San Diego Gas &amp; Electric, Southern California Edison, and Glendale Water and Power. </p>
<p><b>Morgan Technical Ceramics </b>(MTC) introduced its piezo electric ceramic components and ultrasonic sensors for flow measurement of utilities, including gas, heat and water. Ultrasonic flow measurement devices are a key component of smart meters. MTC’s piezoceramic components for measuring flow, distance and level have excellent acoustic sensitivity and mechanical strengths to withstand high pressures. MTC offers a range of electrode materials and geometries to help customers with efficient high-volume manufacturing. Ultrasonic flowmeters are a solid state technology with no moving parts, making them more reliable than conventional mechanical meters. They suffer no pressure loss, offer nearly maintenance-free operation and are more accurate than many competing systems. In addition, they are more adaptable to electronic displays of energy use. </p>
<p><b>ecobee</b> unveiled its second product, the ecobee energy management system (EMS), at the 2010 AHR Expo in Orlando. Designed for the commercial market, the ecobee EMS is intended for applications where a simple thermostat doesn’t provide adequate controls and functionality and a full-scale building automation system is too complex and cost prohibitive. The ecobee EMS was designed to: 1) be extremely easy to use; 2) reduce operating costs; and 3) deliver increased energy conservation. The EMS comes with a dedicated Web portal that allows users to remotely control and monitor HVAC systems and also to identify, analyze and troubleshoot performance issues. Using the EMS, a building manager can create standard operating procedures across multiple properties and compare, contrast and audit energy consumption levels for each property. Users also can configure the ecobee EMS to send alerts and service reminders. </p>
<h4>Smart Grid </h4>
<p><b>S&amp;C Electric</b> announced an investment in the future of the smart grid with its new advanced technology center (ATC) in Chicago. The ATC features a high-power testing laboratory that will enable S&amp;C to test its smart-grid products at home rather than at labs outside the United States, thus accelerating the development and delivery of solutions critical to integrating renewable energy resources to the grid—particularly at the distribution level. Such innovations include automatic service restoration, energy storage and power quality equipment needed for the smart grid. The advanced testing facility also provides a location for independent quality and performance verification testing, which customers often require before deploying equipment on their systems. The ATC will also house S&amp;C’s research and development offices, plus expanded polymer molding operations. </p>
<p><b>Utility Integration Solutions </b>(UISOL) launched UISOL Software, a wholly owned subsidiary that will focus on expansion and support of its growing portfolio of integration software solutions for smart-grid applications. UISOL Software is headquartered in Walnut Creek, Calif., with a major solution center in Santa Clara. Its integration support products help utilities comply with interoperability standards and specifications such as IEC 61968, MultiSpeak and OpenADR. Its DRBizNet software is used by utilities, service providers and ISOs for demand-response management and integration. Utilities are implementing new applications for smart metering, demand response and integration of renewable energy sources as they begin building out a smarter grid. UISOL integration software solutions are aimed at dramatically reducing the cost of integration and reducing the time line and risks associated with systems integration efforts. </p>
<p><b>The ZigBee Alliance</b>, a global ecosystem of companies creating wireless solutions for use in energy management, residential, commercial and consumer electronics applications, has started development of ZigBee Retail Services, a new standard focusing on the retail experience from point-of-manufacture to point-of-sale. This effort is expected to utilize the wide range of ZigBee’s existing profile capabilities, fully leverage the advantages of ZigBee’s open global solution set, and add significant new capabilities to improve the retail supply chain. The anticipated result for the retail market is a significant improvement in quality and supply chain management and efficiency, in addition to enhanced customer satisfaction. It will define applications for mobile terminals and offer plug-in modules to simplify adoption. </p>
<h4>Mergers &amp; Acquisitions </h4>
<p><b>Trimble </b>acquired the assets of privately-held Pondera Engineers based in Post Falls, Idaho. Pondera is an engineering and development company offering services and software tools for siting, designing, optimizing, and maintaining high-voltage power transmission and distribution lines. Pondera provides enterprise software solutions and design services for electric transmission line system operators (ISOs), engineer, procure and construct contractors (EPC) and vertically integrated utilities (IOUs). Its software suite includes TL-Pro Design Studio, PoleSTAR and Nip&amp;Tuck solutions. </p>
<p>The<b> AREVA</b> group agreed to sell its transmission and distribution business to Alstom and Schneider Electric. The sale values AREVA’s T&amp;D business at 4.09 billion Euros. It requires the buyer to maintain all European sites for a three-year period, and AREVA’s European employees are to be offered a similar position in the same geographical area at an equivalent qualification level and without loss of compensation or seniority. Unless the economic situation deteriorates significantly, there will be no layoff program except for voluntary terminations. </p>
</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-members-only field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Viewable to All?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-article-featured field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Is Featured?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-picture field-type-image field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Image Picture:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.fortnightly.com/sites/default/files/article_images/1003/images/1003-VEN.jpg" width="1500" height="998" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above clearfix">
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<a href="/tags/aep">AEP</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/aep-ohio">AEP Ohio</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/alstom">Alstom</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/american-electric-power">American Electric Power</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/amr">AMR</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/atc">ATC</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/battery">Battery</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/bc">BC</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/centerpoint-energy-0">CenterPoint Energy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/ces">CES</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/congress">Congress</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/cpp">CPP</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/dlc">DLC</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/doe">DOE</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/dr">DR</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/dte-energy">DTE Energy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/ems">EMS</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/energy-independence-and-security-act">Energy Independence and Security Act</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/enernoc">EnerNOC</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/epc">EPC</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/ev">EV</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/evs">EVs</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/ice-energy">Ice Energy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/iec">IEC</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/integration">Integration</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/international-battery">International Battery</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/interoperability-standards">interoperability standards</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/ious">IOUs</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/iso">ISO</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/itron">Itron</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/new-jersey">New Jersey</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/nissan-leaf">Nissan LEAF</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/nissan-north-america">Nissan North America</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/oak-ridge-national-laboratory">Oak Ridge National Laboratory</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/openadr">OpenADR</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/openway">OpenWay</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/ppa">PPA</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/schneider">Schneider</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/security">Security</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/siemens">Siemens</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/siemens-energy">Siemens Energy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/solar">Solar</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/solar-panels">solar panels</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/southern-california-edison">Southern California Edison</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/storage">storage</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/technology">Technology</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/toshiba">Toshiba</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/uisol">UISOL</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/utility-integration-solutions">Utility Integration Solutions</a> </div>
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Mon, 01 Mar 2010 05:00:00 +0000puradmin13641 at http://www.fortnightly.comIntegrating Renewableshttp://www.fortnightly.com/fortnightly/2010/03/integrating-renewables
<div class="field field-name-field-import-deck field-type-text-long field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Deck:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>Opportunity for advancement or exercise in futility?</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-import-byline field-type-text-long field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Byline:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>Mani Vadari</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-import-bio field-type-text-long field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Author Bio:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><strong>Mani Vadari</strong> (<a href="mailto:vadari@battelle.org">vadari@battelle.org</a>) is vice president of energy infrastructure at Battelle Energy Technologies.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-import-volume field-type-node-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Magazine Volume:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Fortnightly Magazine - March 2010</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-import-image field-type-image field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Image:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.fortnightly.com/sites/default/files/article_images/1003/images/1003-FEA4-fig1.jpg" width="1368" height="2067" alt="" /></div><div class="field-item odd"><img src="http://www.fortnightly.com/sites/default/files/article_images/1003/images/1003-FEA4-fig2.jpg" width="1371" height="1017" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>With the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen now over, the electric utility industry is under an ever-expanding microscope and is being confronted by a wide array of global energy concerns, a result of political and economic policies targeting climate change. While the Copenhagen Conference might not have been the success that some hoped, it has caused intensified scrutiny. Many of the concerns addressed at the conference have created the most significant impetus for change the industry ever has seen. The subsequent alignment of worries among many politicians, regulators, and customers has renewed concerns that ultimately should result in new legislation and regulations aimed at combating climate change.</p>
<p>An important concern that will need to be addressed by the industry as it tries to combat climate change is the incorporation of new sources of renewable energy (<i>e.g.</i>, wind and solar) into the electric grid. Integrating these new sources of energy will result in a variety of positive outcomes, including the reduction of carbon emissions, the curbing of reliance on foreign sources of energy, and the creation of new green sector jobs that have become a constant topic of discussion in the current economic and political climate.</p>
<p>Renewable sources of energy also pose significant challenges, because they operate in a very different manner from the more common forms of energy generation. Renewables tend to be more expensive, while their energy production is neither constant nor predictable. For these reasons, the electric utility industry has been slow to embrace renewables as the answer to current and future energy production needs. In order to allow renewable energy sources to evolve into a possible solution, new tools need to be developed to forecast and control their production capabilities as they become increasingly prolific, while new forms of energy capture and storage also need to be devised or further improved.</p>
<p>Fortunately, recent scientific and technological advancements to assist with this process currently are being analyzed, and several of them are being piloted. Examples of these recent advancements include: wind energy forecasting, power system visualization and transparency in grid operations, and advanced concepts of power system automation and control through the use of phasor measurement units (PMUs). Ultimately, integrating renewable sources of energy into the electric grid will be viewed from one of two conflicting viewpoints. Will this process be viewed as an impediment to progress, or as the next great opportunity for the electric industry?</p>
<p>As the climate-change debate continues to rage, and regardless of one’s position, there are certain incontrovertible facts:</p>
<p>• The cost of gasoline and other petroleum-related fuels will continue to rise as global demand increases, while at the same time the availability of low-cost reserves will decrease, making production even more expensive;</p>
<p>• Auto makers are attempting to reposition themselves as friends to the environment, with the introduction of electric and electric-hybrid vehicles, leading to increased electrification of transportation; and</p>
<p>• Electric load is continuing to grow both in quantity and complexity, forcing utilities to think of new ways to deliver increased load without the added costs or difficulty associated with new generation.</p>
<p>The electric utility industry has accepted these facts and is attempting to increase its emphasis on developing and deploying new and alternative forms of energy generation and storage. In order to come to fruition, the challenge of renewable integration will need to be addressed as a key science and technology issue.</p>
<p>The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has recognized these needs as a priority for its National Labs and, in an attempt to hasten development, has tasked them with investigating renewable integration and energy storage options, in cooperation with the private energy industry.</p>
<p>As new energy sources become essential to overall energy production and availability, the associated technologies and the ability to integrate them into the electric transmission and distribution grid becomes critical.</p>
<h4>Renewable Characteristics</h4>
<p>An energy resource qualifies as renewable if it is replenished by natural processes at a rate comparable to, or faster than, its rate of consumption by humans. This definition highlights two major dimensions of renewable energy:</p>
<p>• Sustainability: From an energy perspective, sustainability refers to a resource’s ability to be replenished at a rate comparable to, or greater than, the level at which it is used. By this definition, energy derived from traditional sources like coal and oil can’t be considered sustainable because at some point in the future they no longer will be available.</p>
<p>• Reduced Environmental Footprint: Renewable energy resources should, ideally, significantly reduce the emission of greenhouse gases (GHG) into the atmosphere, reduce the need for limited resources such as water, and avoid the creation of other waste products (<i>e.g.</i>, fly ash) that cannot be recycled easily. Reduction of waste and disposing of waste harmlessly also are areas of increased focus.</p>
<p>While both traditional and renewable sources of energy require financial investments, the former creates a situation in which the commodity costs of the fuel required to produce the energy will continue to increase (<i>i.e.</i>, as evidenced by the cost of gasoline last year), when at the same time, the potential of finding new sources of inexpensive fuels diminishes over time. A renewable resource, on the other hand, will continue delivering power over a much longer period of time at a consistent or reduced cost. Renewable resources will require a vastly different restriction on the generation of power. Fossil fuel-based generation (<i>e.g.</i>, coal, natural gas and oil) also creates GHG as a byproduct. Newly conceived financial systems are being developed (<i>e.g.</i>, carbon tax, cap and trade, <i>etc.</i>) to deal with the broader societal costs of these emissions, which also will result in increased costs for GHG-producing generation. The renewable sources of energy largely would be immune to these taxes because they don’t release GHG. As some of these programs are very aggressive, certain countries, as well as many U.S. states, have developed renewable portfolio standards (RPS) to promote development. Implementation of a national RPS standard currently is under debate in the United States.</p>
<p>Not all sources of renewables present significant problems involving integration into the market and operations. For example, small hydroelectric, biomass and geothermal generation are more predictable in terms of production levels. The major challenges will come from solar and wind energy.</p>
<p>Photovoltaic (PV)-based generation is an intermittent source of renewable energy, generally deployed in local situations. Thanks in part to limited use of PV up to this point, integration hasn’t posed major problems. While the amount of concentrated solar generation is expected to increase significantly over the next 15 to 20 years, its impact as a percentage of the overall generation mix will remain low in most locations. As a result, while integration standards for the local distribution grid are required, no serious system operating issues are expected with the expansion of market penetration by the current generation of solar power.</p>
<p>New wind generating facilities are the fastest renewable resource to install and interconnect to the power grid. Wind generation, however, also presents the most significant operational and planning challenges. The penetration of wind-generated power is anticipated even in largely urbanized regions of the United States during the next decade.</p>
<p>The challenges of wind integration at scale can be viewed as seven associated, but distinct, attributes that are characteristic of intermittent wind energy sources:</p>
<p>• Intermittency: Wind generation energy production is extremely variable. In many places, it often produces its highest energy output when the demand for power is at a low point. During periods of favorable wind conditions, it’s possible that all wind projects in an area will be at their full energy output. If that happens, the transmission line could become overloaded and wind generation on that line would need to be curtailed.</p>
<p>• Ability to dispatch: Unlike traditional forms of generation, renewable forms of energy (especially wind and solar) will generate only when the wind is blowing or the sun is shining. Controlling their output, in these instances, is an obvious challenge.</p>
<p>• Remote siting: Wind projects tend to cluster mainly in rural areas not supported by strong transmission systems, and remote from major load centers. Consequently, wind projects have tended to cluster along unfavorable locations, often on lower voltage transmission lines.</p>
<p>• Ability to Forecast: Wind generation is difficult to forecast because it doesn’t always follow a predictable production pattern and forecast technologies aren’t well developed. Solar has similar limitations as a localized cloud cover can suddenly reduce or eliminate the power output.</p>
<p>• Land Requirements: In general, both wind and solar need expansive land area to generate the equivalent power of one normal fossil-fired generating unit. Over time, this will be a limiting factor in how much overall generating capacity can be expected from wind and solar.</p>
<p>• Expensive: Cost is still a significant issue with most renewable forms of generation. They are at an order of magnitude of about 10 to 50 times the cost of free venting, fossil-fired generation. However with appropriate incentives, with innovation in their design and some form of carbon taxation, at least wind likely will be cost competitive within the next three to five years.</p>
<p>• Non-Utility Generation: Possibly for the first time, major generation will be built by companies and people who don’t have a utility mindset. Many of them are property owners or developers. Utilities will need to understand regulatory requirements for accommodating non-utility renewables—such as net-metering arrangements and interconnection standards—and implement them where they’re needed instead of trying to apply them across the entire service territory, at an unnecessarily high cost. In addition, non-utility projects tend to get implemented much faster than conventional generation, which means interconnection processes need to speed up.</p>
<h4>Key Mechanisms</h4>
<p>There are several factors that need to be considered when identifying mechanisms for managing and operating renewable resources: The first factor is siting constraints and characteristics. The location of wind or solar farms is a significant factor regarding management and operation. Important aspects of siting include the ability to: appropriately locate generation facilities in areas of high-energy resource availability; provide transmission corridors to deliver energy from generation to load; and effectively forecast power generation levels and schedules.</p>
<p>Generation from solar, wind, geothermal,<i> etc.</i>, each have specific output characteristics. Even within solar, for example, the output characteristics of different types of solar cells operate differently under different conditions. When combined in large output modes (<i>i.e.</i>, as in a wind farm) behaviors will drive their impact to the grid under different conditions. This specific characteristic actually can be a benefit, in that it can smooth out the rapid fluctuations of wind-energy output to a certain extent. Mechanisms exist to model this information into the forecasting approach so that the variability in the source can be converted into variability in the delivery of power into the grid.</p>
<p>But a key sticking point in the integration of renewables is the availability and ability to build transmission lines and corridors to bring the power from renewable sources into the load centers. This problem has more of a policy aspect than a technical aspect to it. Policy mechanisms are being considered toward finding a solution.</p>
<p>Also, wind and solar energy forecasting has been the focus of much research at DOE laboratories and universities for several years now. The current focus is on forecast error and determining how these sources of generation will fit into the market models and support the balancing authority.</p>
<p>A key aspect of forecast error involves a concept called the “tail event.” A tail event happens when forecast errors for load and wind result in divergence of power demand and supply. Large wind power ramps in a power system <em>(see Figure 1)</em> can create significant imbalances between generation and load, resulting in grid instabilities. Such events occur infrequently but are much more substantial as the market penetration of wind increases.</p>
<p>A second major factor is the use of technology and automation. Two key areas of technology and automation under serious consideration for renewables integration include hardware and software systems.</p>
<p>Examples of hardware systems include synchro-phasor monitoring units (SPMUs), static VAR compensators (SVCs) and flexible AC transmission systems (FACTS). SVCs and FACTS devices represent the fast-acting switching controls for both real and reactive power flow across the grid. They provide operators with a near real-time ability to implement controlling actions in response to system challenges. However, to be effective, they will require greater visibility and transparency of grid status, also in near real-time.</p>
<p>Synchro-phasor technology provides time-synchronized, sub-second data applicable for wide area monitoring and allows the system operator to operate the power system closer to operating margin. SPMUs take the sampling window from six seconds to 60 times per second and provide a GPS time stamp for all measurements. Phasor data will drive a new generation of monitoring, operator decision support and, ultimately, fast real-time controls to improve grid performance.</p>
<p>Software systems also are advancing in ways that will help integrate renewable resources. Control centers will see a new slate of applications focused primarily on wide-area monitoring and power system visualization. Such visualization tools can allow operators to enhance system status knowledge and highlight interconnection status and priorities.</p>
<p>A third major factor involves operational changes. Increased integration of wind and other similar renewables-based generation also will result in the need for newer and more advanced operational methods and processes. Some techniques that merit consideration in large interconnected systems as found in Europe, United States and China include wind-only balancing areas, ACE diversity interchange and second-tier control centers.</p>
<p>Wind-only balancing areas create a virtual balancing authority across multiple control areas, allowing each control area to reduce its overall reserve requirements needed to support the appropriate amount of wind integration. This mechanism leverages geographic diversity both from the generation from renewables as well as load.</p>
<p>ACE diversity interchange (ADI) involves pooling individual area control errors (ACE) to take advantage of control error diversity—<i>i.e</i>., sign differences associated with the momentary generation and load imbalances of each control area. By pooling ACE, participants likely will be able to reduce control burden on individual control areas, unnecessary generator control movement, and sensitivity to resources with potentially volatile output such as wind, and allow reserve sharing across control areas.</p>
<p>Second tier control centers represent a further step in system operations. The continued evolution of operational methods and processes might result in a need to provide increased operator supervision to these activities. This stems from increased importance in understanding probabilistic elements of the grid, such as wind and load forecasts, and the availability of distributed smart resources. The system operator will need to collect the data and formulate an optimal dispatch method that coordinates with transmission dispatch. The attention deserved by such a task implies the need for additional control room support. Whether an additional desk is added to existing transmission control rooms or a second tier control center is established to support a group of transmission control centers is unknown. However, such coordination of assets likely will be necessary.</p>
<p>A fourth factor involves the role of demand management, which offers near-term potential for smart-grid implementations, with substantial benefits for managing peak loads and generation requirements. Demand management could supply valuable ancillary services to accommodate ramping rates for renewable resources, and to reduce the need for spinning and non-spinning reserves, as was demonstrated in the Olympic Peninsula pilot <em>(see Figure 2)</em>.</p>
<p>This pilot project, led by Battelle and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), showed that with proper value signals and automated controls, customer loads could be effectively and rapidly engaged to stabilize the aggregate load of a feeder. This virtually eliminated the need for regulation for periods lasting many hours, all without inconvenience to the consumers.</p>
<p>The demonstration utilized an automated premise dispatch agent that acted in accordance to previously defined customer preferences, in response to five-minute interval market signals. The trial also included very fast-acting (~1 sec), autonomous, short-term load shedding for clothes dryers and water heaters to provide a stabilizing force when the grid gets into trouble or needs to support renewables.</p>
<p>The Olympic Peninsula pilot led to three major conclusions:</p>
<p>• Demand-management resources are capable of responding to ancillary service signals on short (minutes) to very short (seconds) time scales. Peak demand reductions of 16 percent and average demand reductions of 9 percent to 10 percent were realized over extended periods;</p>
<p>• The ability to measure and confirm response of resources was evidenced, at least for groups of customers if not individually;</p>
<p>• A structure for incentives can be offered to customers for short-term response; and</p>
<p>• While providing ancillary services wasn’t a direct objective of the experiment, the observations provided an important foundation for launching a directed effort to engage demand response in providing these benefits.</p>
<p>A fifth factor is the expanding role of storage. Energy storage forms a key part of the portfolio that will be required to support the integration of renewables. Storage is needed to manage or regulate the variable nature of wind, allowing it to be relied on as a semi-firm energy resource.</p>
<p>Much work is being done to target operational principles, algorithms, market integration rules, functional design and technical specification for energy storage that mitigates the intermittency and fast ramps that occur at higher penetration of renewable generation. Some of the technologies that are being studied and deployed include:</p>
<p>• Field experiment design and monitoring of the flywheel energy storage for existing and future renewable penetration;</p>
<p>• Addressing the characteristics and the role of battery storage facility and the regulatory issues to create feasible, economic applications for the battery storage devices; and</p>
<p>• Deploying virtual storage applications, such as Ice Energy’s system for freezing water to shift air conditioning load to off-peak hours (<i>see “Cold Storage in Cali</i>”).</p>
<p>A sixth factor involves the need for active demonstrations. While several options have been presented that can serve as mechanisms for managing and operating renewable resources, it’s important to note that both the applicability to specific locations, as well as the acceptability to different operating conditions, will vary. This only can be mitigated through performing continued active demonstrations of the available mechanisms. Active demonstrations in real-life will allow the different stakeholders to understand and validate the costs and benefits of each solution.</p>
<h4>Critical Mass</h4>
<p>While many people see the pursuit of renewables integration as a noble cause, they simultaneously view it with a great deal of skepticism. Timing of the change is important. While the renewable integration challenge remains at a manageable level today, it will reach a point of critical mass in the next three to five years, based on the best available data. The fact that renewable sources of energy already are entering various transmission and distribution networks also must be considered. A difficulty presented by this is that solutions available in one region might not be available in others.</p>
<p>For example, the hydro dams in the Northwest that can be used to regulate electric generation to match the ramping of wind power aren’t available in the Midwest. This regional availability—or the lack thereof—of renewable resources makes a one-size-fits-all solution impossible. Every solution also will be saddled with its own downside, either economic or environmental. Solutions will need to be judged individually by region and merit.</p>
<p>The ultimate choice between pursuing renewables integration or not has both pros and cons, but nature and necessity are leading in one direction. Thus, while specific solutions are important, a framework of customizable and tailor-made solutions will need to be developed for each region and resource as they struggle with these problems.</p>
<p>As countries and individual states ponder RPS standards, as well as the implications of carbon regulation, economic considerations raise important concerns, particularly during a period of global recession. Due to the recent turmoil in the world’s financial markets, U.S. states are looking toward the influx of <i>American Recovery and Reinvestment Act</i> funding. The possibility of receiving a handout from the ARRA for the purpose of investing in technologies that will assist in renewables integration is becoming increasingly attractive. This funding is temporary, but in general government entities are much more likely to pursue the energy produced by wind and solar-powered sources if they are perceived as bringing money into their regions, while at the same time generating new jobs.</p>
<p>RPS standards and the entry of large amounts of wind power into the grid eventually will be implemented; the main concern is how it will impact the renewables integration big picture and its subsequent impact on grid stability. This isn’t a simple problem. By nature, however, it is fundamentally an engineering problem, and therefore it can be solved.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field-collection-container clearfix"><div class="field field-name-field-sidebar field-type-field-collection field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Sidebar:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div class="field-collection-view clearfix view-mode-full"><div class="entity entity-field-collection-item field-collection-item-field-sidebar clearfix">
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<div class="field field-name-field-sidebar-title field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Sidebar Title:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Worldwide Renewables Integration</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-sidebar-body field-type-text-long field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Sidebar Body:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><!--smart_paging_autop_filter--><!--smart_paging_filter--><p>Ireland has set aggressive national and regional targets of 15-percent electricity generation by wind by 2010, 40-percent renewable electricity generation by 2020, and net-zero carbon by 2035.</p><p>California currently has about 6,000 MW of renewable generating capacity (<i>e.g.,</i> wind, solar, geothermal, biomass and small hydroelectric). California’s RPS standard requires each retail seller of energy to serve 20 percent of retail load from renewable sources by Dec. 31, 2010. In addition, Executive Order S-14-08 puts the renewable energy requirement at 33 percent by 2020, securing its place as the most aggressive renewable energy mandate in the country.</p><p>Germany has created a tariff system that provides priority access for renewable energy to the power grid by obligating grid operators to purchase this electricity.</p><p>China has set a target of producing 16 percent of primary energy from renewable sources (including large hydropower) by 2020. For the electricity sector, the target is 20 percent of capacity from renewables by 2020, including 30 GW of wind power, 20 GW of biomass power, and 300 GW of hydropower capacity.</p><p>The European Union under its EU 20/20/20 mandate is committed to reducing its overall emissions to at least 20 percent below 1990 levels by 2020. It also has set for itself the target of increasing the share of renewables in energy use to 20 percent by 2020.–MV</p></div></div></div> </div>
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<div class="field field-name-field-sidebar-title field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Sidebar Title:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Cold Storage in Cali</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-sidebar-body field-type-text-long field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Sidebar Body:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><!--smart_paging_autop_filter--><!--smart_paging_filter--><p>The Southern California Public Power Authority (SCPPA) in late January signed a first-of-its-kind agreement with Ice Energy of Windsor, Colo., to supply 53 MW of distributed energy storage capacity. The project will deploy Ice Energy’s technology throughout the service areas of SCPPA member utilities to shift air-conditioning load to off-peak hours.</p><p>Ice Energy says its approach yields greater efficiency than other options because it uses more efficient off-peak generation and T&amp;D resources than the equivalent air conditioning load would use. The system freezes water during off-peak hours, which then serves to pre-chill refrigerant used in standard institutional air conditioners, reducing cooling load on a dispatchable, distributed basis.</p><p>The SCPPA project is the largest of its kind. Installations are scheduled to begin in the first half of 2010, with the full 53 MW being completed within two years.–<span><span class="bolditalic">MTB </span></span></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p></div></div></div> </div>
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</div></div></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-article-category field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above clearfix"><h3 class="field-label">Category (Actual): </h3><ul class="links"><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-0"><a href="/article-categories/renewables">Renewables</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-1"><a href="/article-categories/strategy-planning">Strategy &amp; Planning</a></li></ul></div><div class="field field-name-field-members-only field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Viewable to All?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-article-featured field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Is Featured?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-picture field-type-image field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Image Picture:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.fortnightly.com/sites/default/files/article_images/1003/images/1003-FEA4.jpg" width="1120" height="1500" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-fortnightly-40 field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Is Fortnightly 40?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-law-lawyers field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Is Law &amp; Lawyers:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above clearfix">
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<a href="/tags/american-recovery-and-reinvestment-act">American Recovery and Reinvestment Act</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/arra">ARRA</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/battelle">Battelle</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/china">China</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/cost">Cost</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/demand-management">Demand management</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/department-energy">Department of Energy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/doe">DOE</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/energy-storage">Energy storage</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/expensive">Expensive</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/facts">FACTS</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/ghg">GHG</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/hydro-dams">hydro dams</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/ice-energy">Ice Energy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/intermittency">Intermittency</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/pacific-northwest">Pacific Northwest</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/photovoltaic">Photovoltaic</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/pmu">PMU</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/pv">PV</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/recovery">Recovery</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/renewable">Renewable</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/renewable-energy-resources">Renewable energy resources</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/renewable-resources">Renewable resources</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/rps">RPS</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/solar">Solar</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/spinning-reserve">spinning reserve</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/storage">storage</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/svc">SVC</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/synchro-phasor">Synchro-phasor</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/timing">Timing</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/us-department-energy">U.S. Department of Energy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/us-department-energy-doe">U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/wind">Wind</a> </div>
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Mon, 01 Mar 2010 05:00:00 +0000puradmin13640 at http://www.fortnightly.comPeople (July 2009)http://www.fortnightly.com/fortnightly/2009/07/people-july-2009
<div class="field field-name-field-import-category field-type-text field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Category:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">People</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-import-volume field-type-node-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Magazine Volume:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Fortnightly Magazine - July 2009</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><span class="boldred">New Opportunities: </span><b>Constellation Energy</b> announced the promotion of <b>Shameek Konar</b> as senior v.p. for corporate strategy and development.</p>
<p><b>Pepco Holdings, Inc. </b>promoted <b>Kenneth J. Parker</b> to v.p., public policy, and will be succeeded by <b>Vincent Maione</b> as region president, Atlantic City Electric. <b>Karen Lefkowitz </b>was appointed director, customer relations.</p>
<p><b>DPL </b>appointed <b>Joseph Mulpas </b>v.p., controller and chief accounting officer. He was a partner in the energy utility practice at Deloitte &amp; Touche.</p>
<p><b>Otter Tail Corp.</b> hired <b>Michael J. Olsen</b> as v.p., corporate communications and public affairs, a new position.</p>
<p><b>Black Hills Corp.</b> appointed <b>Perry Krush</b> to the position of v.p., supply chain, while the responsibilities of <b>Jeff Berzina</b> were expanded to v.p., corporate controller, to encompass accounting responsibilities previously managed by Krush.</p>
<p><b>Nicor </b>promoted <b>James Griffin </b>to v.p. operations administration for Nicor Gas and <b>Scott Lewis</b> to v.p. governmental relations for Nicor Inc. and Nicor Gas.</p>
<p><b>Avista Corp.</b> named <b>Jason Thackston</b> as v.p., finance, while retaining responsibilities in corporate development and investor relations. <b>Ann Wilson</b>, v.p., finance and treasurer, stepped down.</p>
<p><b>Atmos Energy Corp.</b> promoted <b>Christopher T. Forsythe</b> from director financial reporting to v.p. and controller. He succeeds <b>Fred E. Meisenheimer</b>, who was named senior v.p. and CFO in February.</p>
<p><b>Accenture Utilities </b>announced that <b>Sharon Allen </b>joined its utilities industry group’s transmission and distribution practice as its smart grids offering lead.</p>
<p><b>CH Energy Group </b>named <b>John E. Gould </b>to head its new internal legal services team. He was a senior partner at Thompson Hine LLP and outside chief legal counsel to CH Energy for over a decade.</p>
<p><b>Chesapeake Utilities Corp. </b>named <b>Jeffrey R. Tietbohl</b> as assistant v.p., from director of natural gas distribution at the company’s Delaware and Maryland divisions.</p>
<p><b>Southwestern Energy Corp.</b> promoted <b>Steven L. Mueller </b>to CEO. He was named president and COO in June 2008.</p>
<p><b>Ice Energy</b> appointed <b>John McGee</b> as COO.</p>
<p><b>Ventyx </b>hired <b>Lee Van Atta</b> as v.p. of fuels markets on its advisory services team.</p>
<p><b>WePower</b> named <b>James Abromitis</b> as president and CEO.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><span class="boldred">Boards of Directors: </span><b>CMS Energy</b> announced re-election of all 11 board members: <b>Kenneth Whipple</b>, chairman of CMS Energy and principal subsidiary Consumers Energy and <b>David Joos</b>, president and CEO of CMS Energy and CEO of Consumers Energy. Nine independent directors are: <b>Merribel S. Ayres</b>, <b>Jon E. Barfield</b>, <b>Richard M. Gabrys</b>, <b>Philip R. Lochner Jr.</b>, <b>Michael T. Monahan</b>, <b>Joseph F. Paquette Jr.</b>, <b>Percy A. Pierre</b>, <b>Kenneth L. Way</b> and <b>John B. Yasinsky</b>.</p>
<p><b>Peabody Energy</b> announced that <b>M. Frances Keeth</b>, former executive v.p. of Royal Dutch Shell, plc, and former CEO and president of Shell Chemicals Ltd., was elected to its board. Re-elected were: <b>Gregory H. Boyce</b>, chairman and CEO of Peabody Energy, and <b>William E. James</b>, <b>Robert B. Karn III</b>, <b>Henry E. Lentz</b>. Dr. <b>Blanche M. Touhill</b> retired.</p>
<p><b>El Paso Electric </b>selected <b>Catherine A. Allen</b> to serve on it board replacing <b>Gary Hedrick </b>who resigned.</p>
<p><b>Pepco Holdings</b>, <b>Inc. (PHI) </b>announced the election of <b>Joseph M. Rigby</b> as chairman of the board, succeeding <b>Dennis R. Wraase</b>, who retired. Rigby is president and CEO of PHI. <b>Patrick T. Harker</b> also was elected to the board.</p>
<p><b>Avista Corp.</b> appointed <b>Marc Racicot</b> to its board effective Aug. 1, 2009. He was governor of Montana.</p>
<p><b>Atmos Energy Corp.</b> elected <b>Robert C. Grable</b> to its board, increasing the size of the board to 14.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><i>We welcome submissions to People, especially those accompanied by a high-resolution color photograph. E-mail to: <a href="mailto:people@pur.com">people@pur.com</a>.</i></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-article-category field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above clearfix"><h3 class="field-label">Category (Actual): </h3><ul class="links"><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-0"><a href="/article-categories/people">People</a></li></ul></div><div class="field field-name-field-members-only field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Viewable to All?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-article-featured field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Is Featured?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-department field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above clearfix"><h3 class="field-label">Department: </h3><ul class="links"><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-0"><a href="/department/people">People</a></li></ul></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-picture field-type-image field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Image Picture:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.fortnightly.com/sites/default/files/article_images/0907/images/0907-cvr.jpg" width="1121" height="1500" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-fortnightly-40 field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Is Fortnightly 40?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-law-lawyers field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Is Law &amp; Lawyers:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above clearfix">
<div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div>
<div class="field-items">
<a href="/tags/accenture">Accenture</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/avista">Avista</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/black-hills-corp">Black Hills Corp</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/black-hills-corp-0">Black Hills Corp.</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/ch-energy-group">CH Energy Group</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/chesapeake-utilities">Chesapeake Utilities</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/constellat">Constellat</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/constellation">Constellation</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/constellation-energy">Constellation Energy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/consumers-energy">Consumers Energy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/dpl">DPL</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/el-paso-electric">El Paso Electric</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/ice-energy">Ice Energy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/nicor">Nicor</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/nicor-gas-0">Nicor Gas</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/peabody-energy">Peabody Energy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/pepco-holdings">Pepco Holdings</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/shell">Shell</a> </div>
</div>
Wed, 01 Jul 2009 04:00:00 +0000puradmin13700 at http://www.fortnightly.comPeople (April 2009)http://www.fortnightly.com/fortnightly/2009/04/people-april-2009
<div class="field field-name-field-import-category field-type-text field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Category:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">People</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-import-volume field-type-node-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Magazine Volume:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Fortnightly Magazine - April 2009</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><span class="boldred">New Opportunities: </span><b>DPL Inc.</b> promoted <b>Daniel McCabe</b> to chief administrative officer and senior v.p., from senior v.p.</p>
<p><b>Ameren Corp.</b> announced that <b>Thomas R. Voss</b> will succeed <b>Gary L. Rainwater</b> as president and CEO effective May 1, with Rainwater remaining in the role of executive chairman. Voss is president and CEO of AmerenUE, the company’s regulated Missouri utility. Replacing Voss is <b>Warner L. Baxter</b>, who is executive v.p. and CFO of Ameren and president and CEO of Ameren Services Co. <b>Daniel F. Cole</b>, now senior v.p., administration, Ameren Services, will replace Baxter as Ameren Services president and CEO. <b>Martin J. Lyons</b>, senior v.p. and chief accounting officer, in addition to present duties, will assume Baxter’s role as CFO. Also, Ameren Corp. promoted <b>John R. Fey</b> to v.p. of HR business services from director of HR business services.</p>
<p><b>Pepco Holdings Inc.</b> (PHI) announced that <b>Joseph M. Rigby </b>is president and CEO, succeeding <b>Dennis R. Wraase</b> as CEO. Wraase will continue to serve as chairman of the board until his retirement at PHI’s 2009 board meeting. Rigby was president and COO of PHI. Also promoted is <b>David M. Valazquez</b> to executive v.p. of PHI and leader of the power delivery line of business. He was president and CEO of subsidiary Conectiv Energy. Replacing him as president and CEO of Conectiv Energy is <b>Gary J. Morsches</b>, previously COO and executive v.p. of Conectiv. <b>Anthony J. Kamerick</b>, PHI v.p. and treasurer, will assume the roles of senior v.p. and chief regulatory officer. <b>Kevin M. McGowan</b> will replace Kamerick as v.p. and treasurer and was v.p. of financial planning and budgeting.</p>
<p><b>Spectra Energy </b>announced <b>Reginald (Reggie) Hedgebeth</b> joined the company as general counsel. Previously he was senior v.p., general counsel and secretary with Circuit City Stores.</p>
<p><b>TECO Energy</b> promoted <b>Chuck Attal </b>to senior v.p. He retains the titles of general counsel and chief legal officer.</p>
<p><b>Constellation Energy</b> appointed <b>James L. Connaughton</b>, former chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, as executive v.p., corporate affairs, public and environmental policy.</p>
<p><b>Dominion Resources</b> announced <b>Mark F. McGettrick</b>, president and CEO of Dominion Generation, is the new CFO of Dominion Resources, due to the retirement of <b>Thomas N. Chewning</b> as CFO. Chewning will remain a financial consultant. On June 1 the following changes will occur: <b>Paul D. Koonce</b>, CEO of Dominion Energy, will become CEO of Dominion Virginia Power; <b>David A. Christian</b>, president and chief nuclear officer of Dominion Nuclear will become CEO of Dominion Generation; <b>Gary L. Sypolt</b>, Dominion Transmission’s president, will become CEO of Dominion Energy; and <b>David A. Heacock</b>, Dominion Virginia Power’s president will become president and chief nuclear officer of Dominion Nuclear. On April 1, <b>Diane G. Leopold </b>is promoted to senior v.p.-business development &amp; generation construction from v.p.-fossil &amp; hydro merchant operations. <b>Mary C. Doswell</b> will become senior v.p. for alternative energy solutions, a new position, and <b>James K. Martin </b>will become senior v.p. for regulation and integrated planning.</p>
<p><b>Duke Energy</b> appointed <b>Stephen G. De May</b>, treasurer, to the added duties of senior v.p. and chief risk officer.</p>
<p><b>Pacific Gas and Electric</b> promoted <b>Greg S. Pruett</b> to senior v.p., corporate relations and <b>Kay Orange</b> as v.p., environmental, technical, and land services. Pruett remains senior v.p., corporate relations of holding company, PG&amp;E Corp.</p>
<p><b>NV Energy</b> promoted <b>Tom Fair</b> to v.p., renewable energy from executive, renewable energy, and <b>Kevin Geraghty</b> to v.p., power generation from executive, generation.</p>
<p><b>Madison Gas and Electric </b>promoted <b>Jeff Newman</b> to CFO and secretary, retaining roles of v.p. and treasurer.</p>
<p><b>Northwest Natural</b> promoted <b>Alex Miller</b> to v.p., finance and regulation, in addition to his role as treasurer.</p>
<p><b>Southwestern Energy Co.</b> announ-ced the promotion of <b>Steven Mueller</b> to CEO on May 19, upon the retirement of <b>Harold Korell</b>, the present chairman and CEO.</p>
<p><b>Entergy Nuclear</b> promoted <b>Tim Mitchell</b>, v.p. of operations at Arkansas Nuclear One (ANO), to senior v.p., engineering and technical services for Entergy nuclear. <b>Kevin Walsh</b>, site president at Waterford 3, takes on the role of site president at ANO and <b>Joe Kowalewski</b>, general manager of plant operations at Waterford 3 is promoted to site v.p. at Waterford 3.</p>
<p><b>Atmos Energy Corp.</b> promoted <b>Fred Meisenheimer</b> from v.p. and controller to senior v.p. and CFO.</p>
<p><b>Calpine</b> named <b>Jim D. Deideker</b> senior v.p. and chief accounting officer. He was a v.p. and controller at Texas Genco.</p>
<p><b>Alstom </b>hired <b>Ruth Ravitz Smith</b> as v.p., government affairs and <b>Timothy S. Brown</b> as director, communications.</p>
<p><b>Ice Energy</b> appointed <b>Chris Hickman</b> as senior v.p., utility solutions. He was president of energy services at Site Controls.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><span class="boldred">Boards of Directors: </span><b>The Midwest Independent Transmission Operator</b> reelected to its board <b>Shelley Longmuir</b>, and <b>Baljit “Bal” Dail</b>, CEO of Aon Consulting Worldwide and COO of <b>Aon Benfield</b>, was elected to a first term.</p>
<p><b>Southern Company</b> appointed <b>Veronica Hagen</b> to its board. She is CEO of the Polymer Group.</p>
<p><b>Northern Power Systems</b> appointed <b>John P. Danner</b> its president and CEO. He was president and CEO of Codon Devices.</p>
<p><b>PG&amp;E </b>elected <b>Forrest E. Miller</b>, a senior executive with AT&amp;T, to the holding company’s board, as well as the board of subsidiary, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. Also elected to both boards is <b>Roger H. Kimmel</b>, vice chairman of Rothschild.</p>
<p><b>The GridWise Alliance</b> announced five new board members for 2009. The new members are: <b>Kerrick Johnson</b>, v.p. for external affairs, VELCO; <b>Mark Maddox</b>, senior v.p., Arcadian Networks; <b>Ralph Masiello</b>, senior v.p., energy systems consulting, KEMA, Inc.; <b>Dan</b><b>Rei</b>c<b>her</b>, director of climate change and energy inititives, Google.org; and <b>Ralph Zucker</b>, director smart grid development, BC Hydro. They join 10 directors already serving.</p>
<p><b>Public Service Enterprise Group</b> elected <b>David Lilley</b> to its board.</p>
<p><b>Spectra Energy</b> announced the rotation of its chairman of the board from <b>Paul Anderson</b> to <b>Bill Esrey</b> on May 7. Anderson will remain a board member.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><span class="boldred">Retirements &amp; Resignations: </span><b>PPL</b> announced that <b>Susan M. Stalnecker</b>, a director since 2001, is resigning due to schedule conflicts.</p>
<p><b>Avista</b> announced that <b>Malyn Malquist</b>, executive v.p., retired March 31.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><i>We welcome submissions to People, especially those accompanied by a high-resolution color photograph. E-mail to: <a href="mailto:people@pur.com">people@pur.com</a>.</i></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-article-category field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above clearfix"><h3 class="field-label">Category (Actual): </h3><ul class="links"><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-0"><a href="/article-categories/people">People</a></li></ul></div><div class="field field-name-field-members-only field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Viewable to All?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-article-featured field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Is Featured?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-department field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above clearfix"><h3 class="field-label">Department: </h3><ul class="links"><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-0"><a href="/department/people">People</a></li></ul></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-picture field-type-image field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Image Picture:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.fortnightly.com/sites/default/files/article_images/0904/images/0904-cvr.jpg" width="1121" height="1500" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-fortnightly-40 field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Is Fortnightly 40?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-law-lawyers field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Is Law &amp; Lawyers:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above clearfix">
<div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div>
<div class="field-items">
<a href="/tags/alstom">Alstom</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/ameren">Ameren</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/avista">Avista</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/bc">BC</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/bc-hydro">BC Hydro</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/calpine">Calpine</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/conectiv-energy">Conectiv Energy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/constellat">Constellat</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/constellation">Constellation</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/constellation-energy">Constellation Energy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/dominion">Dominion</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/dominion-energy">Dominion Energy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/dominion-resources">Dominion Resources</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/dominion-virginia-power">Dominion Virginia Power</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/dpl">DPL</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/dpl-inc">DPL Inc.</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/duke-energy">Duke Energy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/entergy">Entergy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/gary-l-sypolt">Gary L. Sypolt</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/google">Google</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/gridwise">GridWise</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/gridwise-alliance">GridWise Alliance</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/hydro">Hydro</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/ice-energy">Ice Energy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/kema">KEMA</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/madison-gas-and-electric">Madison Gas and Electric</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/network">Network</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/northwest-natural">Northwest Natural</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/nuclear">Nuclear</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/nv-energy">NV Energy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/pacific-gas-and-electric">Pacific Gas and Electric</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/pepco-holdings">Pepco Holdings</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/ppl">PPL</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/public-service-enterprise-group">Public Service Enterprise Group</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/shell">Shell</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/southern-company">Southern Company</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/teco-energy">TECO Energy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/transmission">Transmission</a> </div>
</div>
Wed, 01 Apr 2009 04:00:00 +0000puradmin13735 at http://www.fortnightly.comThe Efficiency Mandate: Storage Goes Mainstreamhttp://www.fortnightly.com/fortnightly/2009/04/efficiency-mandate-storage-goes-mainstream
<div class="field field-name-field-import-deck field-type-text-long field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Deck:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>New business models make energy storage attractive.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-import-byline field-type-text-long field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Byline:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>Michael T. Burr</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-import-bio field-type-text-long field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Author Bio:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><b>Michael T. Burr</b> is <i>Fortnightly’s</i> editor-in-chief. Email him at <a href="mailto:burr@pur.com">burr@pur.com</a></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-import-volume field-type-node-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Magazine Volume:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Fortnightly Magazine - April 2009</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>As policymakers and business leaders assign a higher priority to efficiency goals, companies are finding that the low-hanging fruit already has been picked in many areas. Reaching the next level might require some fundamental changes in regulatory policy and market models. Increasingly, regulators are focusing on the conflict between efficiency investments and volume-based ratemaking <i>(see “<a href="http://www.fortnightly.com/fortnightly/2009/04/efficiency-mandate-stimulating-energy-efficiency">Stimulating Efficiency</a>”)</i>. But decoupling and negawatt rates won’t remove some of the most important barriers to system-wide efficiency improvements.</p>
<p>For example, distributed energy storage offers a host of efficiency benefits, including deferring or eliminating T&amp;D investments; reducing the need for fuel-hogging spinning reserve; and increasing the reliability of variable generation sources, including wind and solar. But today, most utilities aren’t investing in grid-scale storage—not necessarily because of its capital cost, but because regulatory and market structures discourage it.</p>
<p>Transmission owners with assets managed by independent system operators (ISO) can’t put storage assets in their rate base, because those assets also provide generation services. Similarly, distribution utilities frequently can’t justify the cost of energy storage only on the basis of its distribution-system benefits. And generation companies struggle to make energy storage pay off, because the market hasn’t yet developed bilateral contracts that value the full range of energy storage services.</p>
<p>“That’s the key impediment to moving storage forward,” says Edward Cazalet, vice president with MegaWatt Storage Farms, and former member of the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) board of governors. “We need a mechanism to put some of the cost in the rate base, and to recover the remainder from the power market,” he says.</p>
<h4>Dark Energy</h4>
<p>Even as end-use technologies have become more efficient, the U.S. electricity grid actually has remained relatively inefficient—largely because utilities must maintain enough reserve capacity to meet critical peak loads that might occur only a few hours a year. While base-load nuclear plants operate with capacity factors averaging greater than 90 percent, many gas-fired peaking plants operate at capacity factors in the 5 percent range.</p>
<p>The result is an inefficient system, both in terms of resource utilization and fuel consumption. And ironically, it might get worse as end users reduce their overall consumption but not necessarily their peak demand.</p>
<p>“When people talk about energy efficiency, usually they think in terms of site efficiency,” says Chris Hickman, senior vice president at energy service company Ice Energy. “Unfortunately things like CFLs [compact fluorescent light bulbs] and Energy Star appliances tend to reduce the base load, not necessarily the peak. The unintended consequence for the grid is that the thermally driven component—air conditioning—becomes a more significant problem for peak load.”</p>
<p>In principle, energy storage offers a tidy solution to this problem. Distributed storage in particular—in the form of deep-cycle batteries and thermal storage like Ice Energy’s technology—can reduce peak demands in a targeted, intelligent way with minimal impact on end users. By installing storage capacity downstream of grid constraints, storage can improve efficiency both in terms of T&amp;D infrastructure and energy consumption.</p>
<p>To encourage development of energy-storage systems, the Stimulus Bill provides funding that may be used to develop battery technologies, and includes energy storage among the project types eligible for the bill’s $4.5 billion in matching grants. But notwithstanding this new source of money, energy- storage investments remain difficult under current regulatory structures.</p>
<p>A case in point: In 2006, FERC defined the 500- MW Lake Elsinore Advance Pumped Storage (LEAPS) project as an “advanced transmission technolog[y]” under the 2005 Energy Policy Act (EPAct), which directs the commission to encourage such projects. But when the project’s independent developer, Nevada Hydro, sought cost-based rate treatment and incentive tariffs for the project—as provided under EPAct—the California ISO refused, saying it “cannot support treating LEAPS differently than existing, similar generating units.” FERC upheld CAISO’s decision, effectively leaving storage in a state of limbo.</p>
<p>Large pumped-storage projects like LEAPS face a buzz-saw of siting, permitting and licensing requirements. Smaller, distributed storage projects are easier to site, but because their services are difficult to price in the market, they’re almost impossible to finance on a project basis.</p>
<p>“It’s hard to find a long-term bilateral contract for ancillary services,” Cazalet says. He explains that when a utility enters a long-term power-purchase agreement with a generator, the contract typically bundles ancillary services under a tolling contract or some similar arrangement. “Storage is a different animal,” he says. “It has a different mix of services, and there’s no established forward market for those services that would reveal the prices.” Without the ability to secure customers, battery projects can’t obtain debt financing.</p>
<p>Cazalet’s company is trying to overcome that problem by structuring projects and contracts in ways that quantify and apportion the costs and benefits. In some cases this might result in a hybrid partnership, in which a wires company owns the T&amp;D assets while MegaWatt Storage Farms owns the power assets. In other cases, the company will enter bilateral contracts to provide services to a transmission company or load-serving entity. “You can structure a long-term PPA for the suite of services provided by a given storage technology,” Cazalet says. “A 15-year contract for 1,000 MW of distributed storage would look just like 1,000 MW of resources, except it could be dispatched in one second and ramped from -1 GW to +1 GW. No other machine on the grid can do that today.”</p>
<p>The trick is putting a dollar value on those capabilities, and structuring a contract that accurately reflects that value in a given situation. “We’re happy to do it in any way that makes sense for moving the industry forward,” Cazalet says.</p>
<h4>Cold Storage</h4>
<p>One possible solution is being pursued by Ice Energy. The company’s technology faces some practical limitations—<i>i.e.</i>, it only works during the cooling season, and its scale is limited by the amount of rooftop AC capacity in a given area. But Ice Energy’s business model suggests a potential path for expanding efficiency investments in the future.</p>
<p>Since 2003, the Windsor, Colo.-based company has been using ice-making machines as an energy storage device. Ice Energy connects refrigerant lines between its ice makers and the end user’s rooftop AC units. During off-peak hours, the ice makers go to work making ice, and during peak hours, the ice cools the refrigerant and reduces or eliminates AC compressor cycling. The system can shift up to six hours of cooling load each day.</p>
<p>Ice Energy has sold most of its equipment as a cost-saving device for end users. Utilities, including PG&amp;E and Southern California Edison, have offered rebates for customers who purchase the equipment—as they do for other types of energy-saving gear. Now, however, Ice Energy is taking the next step, aggregating cooling capacity at numerous facilities and marketing it on a wholesale basis as fast-reacting, dispatchable power.</p>
<p>“We bid head-to-head in RFPs with gas peakers,” Hickman says. “But because we’re a distributed resource, we have the opportunity to affect overall system efficiency. We work with the jurisdictional utility or the city, and talk to their planning group to identify constraints on their system.”</p>
<p>Hickman says the company has standing agreements with about 30 nationwide commercial hosts, which allows it to identify local site prospects quickly—and to target its deployments most effectively for the utility. For example, if feeders are operating near their limits, Ice Energy will install its machines at customer facilities served by those feeders. This serves more than one goal for the utility—reducing system peak, and relieving stress on specific circuits.</p>
<p>Additionally, Hickman says Ice Energy’s approach saves energy overall. Because the technology shifts cooling load from hot, peak-demand hours to cooler, off-peak periods, Ice Energy claims its system is effectively “lossless”—<i>i.e.</i>, it delivers 1 kWh worth of cooling for every 1 kWh of AC load that it offsets. Of course the ice makers themselves aren’t 100-percent efficient; Hickman says thermal losses account for about 12 or 13 percent of electricity used. But by running ice-machine compressors at night when ambient temperatures are lower, the round-trip process consumes about the same amount of electricity that the conventional AC units would use during the hotter daytime. “We use what nature gives us—a temperature differential from day to night,” Hickman says.</p>
<p>In the bargain, the system uses off-peak capacity that’s more energy efficient—by virtue of power plants operating with a lower heat rate, and cooler T&amp;D systems transmitting power more efficiently. And of course the shifted load consumes less peak-priced electricity. Rate structures determine whether that’s money saved by the utility or the end-use customer.</p>
<p>“The capabilities of the product create a wide variety of options to help utilities manage the grid, from a very granular level to a large system level,” Hickman says. Such options include optimizing the potential of variable generation sources, such as wind turbines that reach their peak output at night, like they do in Texas. Another example is rooftop PV—which itself can reduce peaking-capacity requirements <i>(see “<a href="http://www.fortnightly.com/fortnightly/2009/04/efficiency-mandate-net-zero-neighborhoods">Net-Zero Neighborhoods</a>”)</i>, but only when the sun shines. As a result, several states have classified Ice Energy’s solution as a renewable resource.</p>
<p>The company sells this package of capabilities in two ways. First, a utility can purchase Ice Energy’s equipment outright, and contract with the company for operations and maintenance (O&amp;M). Hickman says this approach works best for municipal utilities and cooperatives, whose low cost of capital makes buying assets more attractive than contracting. Second, a utility can enter a long-term contract as it would with an IPP.</p>
<p>“We’ve structured our deal so it includes all the things utilities are used to seeing in a PPA,” Hickman says. “You sign a 20-year agreement with availability and power factor criteria, insurance, O&amp;M, maintenance reserve, <i>etc.</i> Our first cost is higher than it is for a gas-fired peaker, but because we have lower operating cost, we’re more cost-effective over the 20-year PPA.”</p>
<p>Its cost characteristics distinguish Ice Energy in the market; battery systems, by comparison, can’t compete against fossil-fired peaking plants. As a result, deploying most types of distributed storage technologies will require more complex financing structures, to accurately apportion the values and costs of ancillary services. But as utilities seek ways to manage load and optimize grid resources, ancillary services will gain value—making distributed storage projects an easier sell.</p>
<p>“Storage has gone mainstream in the last year and a half,” Hickman says. “People now recognize that storage is a critical aspect of what we need to manage the grid effectively.”</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-article-category field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above clearfix"><h3 class="field-label">Category (Actual): </h3><ul class="links"><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-0"><a href="/article-categories/dr-conservation">DR &amp; Conservation</a></li></ul></div><div class="field field-name-field-members-only field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Viewable to All?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-article-featured field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Is Featured?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-picture field-type-image field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Image Picture:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.fortnightly.com/sites/default/files/article_images/0904/images/0904-FEA1b.jpg" width="1156" height="1500" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-fortnightly-40 field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Is Fortnightly 40?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-law-lawyers field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Is Law &amp; Lawyers:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above clearfix">
<div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div>
<div class="field-items">
<a href="/tags/aps">APS</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/caiso">CAISO</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/california-independent-system-operator">California Independent System Operator</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/energy-policy-act">Energy Policy Act</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/epa">EPA</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/epact">EPAct</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/ferc">FERC</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/hydro">Hydro</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/ice-energy">Ice Energy</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/ipp">IPP</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/iso">ISO</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/ppa">PPA</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/pv">PV</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/southern-california-edison">Southern California Edison</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/spinning-reserve">spinning reserve</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/storage">storage</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/transmission">Transmission</a><span class="pur_comma">, </span><a href="/tags/wind">Wind</a> </div>
</div>
Wed, 01 Apr 2009 04:00:00 +0000puradmin13738 at http://www.fortnightly.com